Lampard to Palace? Young English manager to replace the oldest one

Roy Hodgson announced that this season would be his last in charge of Crystal Palace. The 73-year-old tactician has done a remarkable job establishing the Eagles as a solid Premier League outfit during his four-year spell with the club he supported as a boy. But the time has come for Palace to find fresh blood and ideas.

The South London club is close to agreeing with former England midfielder Frank Lampard and is already started talks with the former Chelsea boss. The former Chelsea manager is now the favourite to succeed Roy Hodgson.

Palace chairman Steve Parish wants to alter the mindset of players fixed on playing one way under Hodgson. He wants a new manager to tweak the system and implement a more attractive playing style and believes that Lampard could be the man to do both those things.

Critically, he also believes the former midfielder could help recruit some fringe stars from Chelsea. Lampard retains a good relationship with Russian owner Roman Abramovich, which could help smooth the way for up to three players to move from west to south London.

Explaining his impending Palace departure, Hodgson spoke of his pride in doing an excellent job for the Selhurst Park club since being relieved of his post as England manager in 2016.

“After more than 45 years of coaching, I have decided that the time is right for me to step away from the rigours of top-flight Premier League football, so our final two matches will be my last ones as manager of Crystal Palace. It’s been a particularly rewarding period of my football life and career to have been able to spend these last four seasons with Palace.”

Should Frank Lampard arrive to Palace, he’d have a daunting task of restoring his reputation after his underwhelming spell in charge of Chelsea, the club where he won many trophies while a player. Despite holding one of the top managerial jobs in the Premier League, the former midfielder is still relatively inexperienced. He had one season at Derby County, reaching the Championship play-off final, before having 18 months at Stamford Bridge.

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan believes there is a risk, as there always is, with hiring a manager.

"There’s a gamble in every managerial appointment you make. It’s about how you minimise that risk. You can’t eliminate risk when you cross a road. You can look right and left, which only removes a portion of the risk you take. With Frank Lampard, I said a couple of months ago I could see that play out."

Stamford Fortress

Lampard is not the only name on Palace shortlist. Burnley boss Sean Dyche and Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael are also candidates as Eagles prepare to make some big decisions in the coming month or two.